Former Pitt star RB Qadree Ollison glad to be back in town on Steelers practice squad
Countless times, Qadree Ollison had been on the fields of UPMC Rooney Sports Complex on Pittsburgh’s South Side. For five years, he spent plenty of time on them while playing for Pitt. For Ollison’s final season with the Panthers, when he gained 1,213 rushing yards, it was Kenny Pickett handing...
No Paddlewheel Trophy, but much at stake Saturday when Pitt meets Cincinnati
The River City Rivalry between Pitt and Cincinnati lacks the hate, intensity and longevity of the Backyard Brawl. But in its day, the rivalry did have something the Brawl lacks: a trophy presentation for the winner. The 95-pound Paddlewheel Trophy has been retired, but from 2005-2012, it symbolized the Ohio...
Mark Madden: Early-season mismatches part of college football’s flawed system
College football is stupid. We got reminded of that this past weekend when powerhouses played pushovers to produce scores like 81-7, 73-0, 73-7, 66-14 and 56-3. Even Pitt got to pummel some sacrificial lamb. (Anybody know where Wofford is located? Without using Google.) These mismatches are the progeny of college...
Pitt notebook: Panthers turn the page after easy victory against Wofford
The victory counts for one, just like it would have if Pitt had defeated Florida State or North Carolina. Actually, viewed through another prism, defeating Wofford of the FCS on Saturday at Acrisure Stadium is worth a bit less because the nonconference game does nothing to enhance Pitt’s hopes of...
Phil Jurkovec leads Pitt to 45-7 victory against Wofford
Long before kickoff, Pat Narduzzi and everybody in the crowd of 45,096 at Acrisure Stadium knew Pitt would defeat tiny Wofford on Saturday. Clean execution and careful planning had plenty to do with the 45-7 victory that, in reality, was easier than the final score indicated. Wofford, an FCS team...
Jeff Capel boosts Pitt’s depth, adds grad transfer guard Michael Hueitt
A week after guard Dior Johnson left school, Pitt basketball coach Jeff Capel moved to bolster his depth at the position by adding graduate transfer Michael Hueitt Jr. to the roster. Pitt will be Hueitt’s fourth school since finishing his high school career at Northwood Temple Academy in Fayetteville, N.C.,...
ACC becomes latest power conference to expand cross-country by adding Stanford, Cal and SMU
The ACC voted Friday to add Stanford, California and SMU to the league next year, providing a landing spot for two more schools from the disintegrating Pac-12 and creating a fourth super conference in major college sports. The additions make the ACC the latest power conference to expand its membership...
Pitt Take 5: Close call in opener against Wofford won’t be tolerated
Wide receiver Jerrod “Bub” Means put Pitt’s opener Saturday against tiny Wofford in its proper light. “We take every team the same way,” he said. “We respect all of our opponents. We don’t care who the opponent is. We don’t let up. We prepare the same way. We go out...
Pitt notebook: Answers to everyone’s questions will start to come in Saturday
Pat Narduzzi is not directly in the business of selling tickets, but he sounded a bit like a carnival barker Thursday when he met with reporters two days before Pitt opens its season against Wofford. If you want to get the first glimpse of what Pitt may be like this...
For more than 50 years, Bill Hillgrove’s voice has been ‘the soundtrack to our sports memories’
Before he called Tony Dorsett’s 303rd rushing yard against Notre Dame in 1975, Kenny Pickett’s fake slide in the 2021 ACC championship game or M.J. Devonshire’s pick-6 against West Virginia last year, Bill Hillgrove’s first venture behind a microphone required him to play the part of a brat. It was...
Pitt’s deep tight end group gives assistant coach Tim Salem lineup options
Tim Salem didn’t want to answer the question. Which was a surprise. Normally, Pitt’s tight ends coach loves to talk about his men, but this question didn’t interest him: Is Pitt’s current crop of tight ends the program’s deepest since he was hired nearly nine years ago? Salem started to...
Bub Means, A.J. Woods hope to get a kick from Pitt’s passing game, special teams
Wide receiver Bub Means has a ready explanation for why he is listed as the No. 1 kickoff returner on the Pitt depth chart. In his mind, it’s simple, really. “They’re trying to get the playmaker the ball. That’s what I see. Me and my dog back there,” he said,...
First Call: Mike Tomlin’s spot among coaches in AP poll; Josh Dobbs’ chances of starting in Arizona
Tuesday’s “First Call” features Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin and his place among other NFL coaches. We also take a look at Josh Dobbs’ chances of becoming a starter in Arizona. And we have some wild stats about Johan Oviedo’s complete game win for the Pirates in Kansas City on...
After slight shuffling of personnel, Pat Narduzzi will ‘find out on game day’ Pitt’s true identity
Pat Narduzzi was careful Monday not to inaccurately describe the personality of his ninth Pitt team at the outset of the first game week of the season. “We got a great group of guys,” he said. “I don’t want to say polite.” Polite usually doesn’t carry the day in college...
Madden Monday: ‘There’s just not anything to dislike’ about Kenny Pickett’s preseason for Steelers
After a 3-0 preseason for the Steelers, many in Pittsburgh are bumping up their 2023 win total predictions by multiple games. Mark Madden of TribLIVE and 105.9 The X has a more conservative approach. “I might be coerced into 10-7 instead of 9-8. But, for me, there’s still plenty of...
Jeff Capel credits administrative support system for Pitt basketball turnaround
The dramatically positive revival of Pitt basketball this year was the result of coach Jeff Capel recruiting and developing the right men and helping them bond as more than teammates. In a span of only a few months, they became friends who had each other’s backs. But what spawned the...
Wofford’s Shawn Watson embraces ‘the why’ of coaching as he prepares his Terriers for Pitt
Pat Narduzzi and Shawn Watson will stand on opposite sidelines Saturday at Acrisure Stadium, rival coaches for the three-plus hours it will take Pitt and Wofford to play their 2023 season opener. But it won’t be the first time college football has brought them together. Once, it even tore them...
Fueled by Heather Lyke’s leadership, Pitt athletics experiencing renaissance of success
One by one, they enter the room. Pat Narduzzi. Jeff Capel. Jay Vidovich. Dan Fisher. Every head coach of a varsity program at the University of Pittsburgh shuffles into a room in either the Petersen Events Center or the South Side football facility. They’re all here to meet with their...
Pitt chancellor: Multiple factors will play into a new contract for AD Heather Lyke
New University of Pittsburgh Chancellor Joan Gabel minced no words when it came to her assessment of Athletic Director Heather Lyke. “Heather is without question one of the best athletic directors in the country,” Gabel recently told the Tribune-Review. “She’s been recognized as such (for) wins on the field and...
Mega-donor Chris Bickell helping Pitt level playing field with college football’s elite teams
Chris Bickell is helping to keep Pitt athletics in the game. For starters, there’s the matter of the $20 million — the largest single donation provided to Pitt athletics — he donated in 2021. To put that into perspective, John and Gertrude Petersen of Erie donated $10 million in 1999...
From QB to athletic office, Pat Bostick continues to leave mark at Pitt
When Pat Bostick first arrived at Pitt, his job was scoring touchdowns — either by throwing them as a highly recruited, four-star quarterback or by leading the Panthers offense. Today, Bostick’s job is scoring points with donors: building lasting relationships with deep-pocketed alumni and supporters who part with their assets...
Good not good enough for Pitt in 2023’s new era of college football
Pitt football began in 1890 with a team that played three games, never bothered to name a coach and managed one victory, 10-4, at Geneva. Today, there are 55 Pitt coaches and staff members — from coordinators to nutritionists — who make significant contributions to a program that is among...
Louis Riddick imparts wisdom to Pitt football players
It’s no secret ESPN football analyst Louis Riddick loves Pitt football. He doesn’t hide it: He boasts about the Panthers any time he can to his colleagues and on social media. The 1991 Pitt graduate was the guest speaker at the Pitt Football luncheon Friday at The Westin, where he...
Pitt backcourt shorthanded after Dior Johnson leaves men’s basketball team
A once-prized Pitt basketball recruit who ran into legal trouble and redshirted last season, Dior Johnson is “no longer attending the University of Pittsburgh,” a team spokesman said in a statement Friday evening. The move comes as a surprise after the 6-foot-3 guard joined the Panthers on their preseason trip...
Pitt notebook: Panthers choose 3 team captains for ’23 season
Coach Pat Narduzzi announced tri-captains at the teams’s annual football kickoff luncheon Friday at The Westin. The trio selected by their teammates for the upcoming season includes offensive lineman Matt Goncalves, linebacker Shayne Simon and defensive lineman David Green. Goncalves said he didn’t know if he expected to be named...
